Lonely Soul
by TheBatcave
Summary: Gohan deeply misses his father. He's always lost in tears and to make things worse, Cell has returned to rub it in. Will Gohan pull through, or has he lost the will to live? COMPLETE!
1. Grief

**Lonely Soul**

**This takes place about two weeks after the Cell Games**

**Chapter 1: Grief**

Ever since the Cell Games ended, Gohan had felt depressed, guilty and responsible for his father's death. He knew that Goku was proud of him for who he was, deep down, he knew. But he felt that his father's words were just a tangled web of lies. The eleven-year-old hybrid walked into his bedroom after another day of training on his own, and fighting with his mother. He took his shoes off, the ones which Piccolo had given to him, who didn't seem like he wanted to have anything to do with Gohan as he hadn't spoken to him for months. Gohan stared out of his bedroom window at the many stars in the night sky. There were so many that he could make out a picture of his father smiling at him. Gohan closed his eyes and thought deeply…

Flashback

Gohan was on his hands and knees at the Cell Games, cursing himself for not destroying Cell when he had the chance. Suddenly, Goku appeared in front of him.

"Take care of your mother for me," he said, "goodbye, Gohan." The raging winds blew Goku's hair out of his face, revealing the happiness in his eyes. He disappeared, taking Cell with him.

"NO COME BACK!"

End Flashback

Gohan opened his eyes and turned away from the window. While walking to his bed, he picked up a framed picture of his father off the desk with himself standing next to him, taken on his eleventh birthday a few days before the Cell Games. Gohan stared at it with sorrow and grief in his heart. He felt a single tear come down his cheek.

"Why?" he wept.

Gohan collapsed onto his bed hugging the picture in his arms. He cried, not caring that anyone would hear him. He cried as loud as he could to let it all out, but he felt as if he'd never stop. Oblivious to the loving stars out of his window, Gohan cried himself to sleep…

Gohan awakened to his same boring life the next morning, still holding the picture of him and his father. He sat up and stared at it. He then looked at his alarm clock which read 10:37am. He looked back at the picture and sniffed. He put it back on his desk and headed downstairs to find a note on the fridge door:

At Bulma's

Will be back tonight

Food in cupboard if you get hungry

Mom xxxxx

Gohan put it back on the fridge. Then he decided to go for a walk as he wasn't hungry. He walked slowly across the fields, staring at the floor, not thinking at all. He stopped and stared at his reflection in the sunlit lake. Suddenly,

"You murderer!"

Gohan snapped out of his trance as his eyes widened to the familiar voice out of nowhere that was cursing him.

"Father? Is-is it you?"

"You killed me, you son of a bitch!" Gohan started to cry.

"No, no, no!"

"You're a killer…you don't deserve to live…"

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no…" Goku's reflection appeared behind him in the lake.

"I died in Hell because of you…"

"Dad, no, I'm – I'm sorry!"

"I'm suffering! I'm being tortured from the inside…and it's all your fault!"

"NOOOOOOO!"

In a flash, Goku's reflection disappeared, but not entirely. Where his father had been standing, where his reflection was…Cell was stood there, smirking at him.

"You should listen to your father, Gohan…he's right…isn't he always right?" he said. Gohan continued to stare at Cell's reflection without any expression whatsoever on his face…not that he knew that he what Cell was actually there. Cell put his hand on Gohan's shoulder.

"Don't…" whispered Gohan.

"What?"

"Don't touch me…" Cell chuckled and dug his claws into his shoulder.

"AAAAAH!" Gohan screamed.

"I enjoy your pain, ending your existence is most amusing!"

Gohan yelled even more as blood neatly slid down his arm. Cell released him and caught him by his neck before he collapsed.

"Before you go, I just want to say that I was very surprised when you first told me your secret. It's always the quiet ones isn't it?"

Cell pressed down on his pressure points, which sent Gohan into a deep and painful slumber. Cell dropped him into the water. It was as shallow as a puddle though because they were at shore. Gohan lay there, motionless on his stomach with his legs still on shore.

"I'll see you soon…and don't even try to avoid me, kid. Anyway, you can't tell anyone about me because they won't listen to you!"

Cell took off, leaving him there to suffer…

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	2. Pain

**Lonely Soul**

**Chapter 2: Pain**

Gohan woke up a couple of hours later, and realised that he was still underwater. He threw his head back and coughed loudly as the water dripped off his hair, nose and chin.

"A-ah," he whimpered as he clutched his injured shoulder. Gohan looked up and realised that he wasn't where he was before. He was in a dark cave deep in the woods, and the water where the lake was supposed to be was just a deep puddle of rain.

Suddenly, something punched him in the face and sent him backwards onto his side. Gohan silently whimpered to himself as the figure who hit him ferociously pulled him up to eye level by his hair.

"Hello again, my young friend," said Cell, who was smiling, enjoying the sound of Gohan's silent cries. "Come on, you can cry louder than that!" Cell dragged Gohan off the floor and slammed him into the cave wall then kneed him in the face. Gohan's face started to bleed from his nose and mouth. Then he elbowed him in the back of his head and Gohan landed on his stomach. But before he could even move, Cell walked over to him and placed one of his feet onto Gohan's head and pressed down hard.

"AAAAH!" he cried, which only encouraged Cell to carry on.

"I can't hear you!" he said. He took his foot off Gohan's head, who stood up. "Get over here; I'm not done with you yet, not nearly!" Cell lunged at Gohan and threw his fist at him. Gohan took a step back, but still caught Cell's claws on his chest. Cell was too quick for him as he grabbed the back of his shirt and shoved his knee into his stomach then his elbow into his spine.

Gohan was literally crying now, his tears mixed with the blood on his face. His head was throbbing, his stomach was hurting, and his spine was aching. Cell decided to spill a few more pints of blood the old-fashioned way, and picked up a dagger which lay in the corner of the cave.

"Right, let's slow things down a little. I don't want you to die so soon," said Cell. Gohan's eyes widened as he saw the dagger in Cell's hand. He struggled to sit up against the wall, but eventually did as that would be the closest to standing up in his condition.

"W-what are you gonna do to me?" he cried. Cell kneeled down beside him as he also knew that he wouldn't be able to stand up.

"I'm going to torture you until you die," he said. Cell took Gohan's hand and sliced his palm wide open. Gohan buried his head into the wall and shut his eyes tightly. The pain increased greatly as Cell did the same to his other hand. More and more tears streamed down his bruised face.

"Please, stop it, please…" he cried. Cell ignored him and dug the knife into his stomach. "AAH!" He removed the knife and stabbed his other shoulder. Gohan didn't have the strength to scream anymore, so he just watched Cell cut into him. By the time Cell had finished, both of Gohan's ankles were sliced so much that no-one could see the individual cuts. Gohan could do nothing but cry to himself. He couldn't walk, or move his arms.

Cell took the knife one last time and placed it on the corner of Gohan's forehead and dragged it down his face, dangerously close to his eye, and stopped as he reached his bottom draw. It left a neat, thin line behind. Cell left the knife next to Gohan.

"Here's a souvenir. I'll be back, kid," said Cell. He took some of Gohan's blood and wrote something on the wall opposite Gohan. He then left the eleven year old to suffer…alone.

The cave was dark, miserable and frightening. Gohan couldn't stop crying as the pain was paralysing, too agonizing to bear. Gohan raised his head to the only source of light which was a whole in the wall, and prayed that someone would come for him, but at that moment, he only had one person in mind…

"Daddy…" he croaked. Gohan's vision blurred and he fell unconscious.

In Otherworld…

Goku was training with Pikkon while King Kai's senses perked up as he felt that Gohan's life force was severely low. Goku noticed his facial expression was shocking and went over to him.

"King Kai, what's going on, is it Gohan?" asked Goku.

"I'm afraid so, Goku. Cell has returned and has tortured poor Gohan for hours. He may just have hours to live. Nobody knows where he is."

"Oh God, no! Gohan…wait! Can't I talk to Piccolo and tell him what happened? Then he could get to him."

"Go ahead, you know the drill."

Goku placed his hand on King Kai's back.

"_Piccolo, it's Goku, can you hear me?"_

Piccolo was meditating near the waterfall and his eyes shot open, "Goku!"

"_Piccolo, it's about Gohan –"_

"_What's wrong!"_

"_Cell's back and he took Gohan to a cave just to the north of you, and tortured him. I need you to find him and heal him right away before he dies. He's in pretty bad shape."_

"_I'm on it." _

Piccolo arrived there quickly and entered the tunnel which led him into the cave. He then ran over to a small figure that was leaning against the wall.

"Gohan!"

Piccolo took Gohan's bloody body in his arms and turned towards the wall opposite him. It read 'I shall return for the boy' in Gohan's blood. They took off towards the lookout. Dende had sensed them coming.

"Oh my God, Gohan!" he cried. Piccolo carefully placed him in front of Dende, who then quickly healed him. "There."

Gohan's eyes opened slowly and he sat up. No one said anything. Gohan just looked at them both tearfully and started to cry. Dende ran over to him. The Namekian child held Gohan against his chest. Piccolo saw that he was traumatized and that he knew that Cell was coming back for him.

_Gohan would be too scared to face him again. What are we gonna do?_ He thought, as he sorrowfully glanced at the weeping Gohan.

**Plz Review**

**Zarbon: Or I'll have your guts for garters!**

**Jeice: Quiet, mate…**


	3. Alone

**Lonely Soul**

**Chapter 3: Alone**

Piccolo went to the bedroom to check on Gohan. He quietly opened the door to find the bed empty. The sheets were scattered everywhere.

"I hope Cell isn't behind this!"

Piccolo ran out of the door to find a very distraught Gohan stood on the very edge of the lookout. Dende soon followed as he too was aware that Gohan was outof bed. Gohan was repeating what he did when he was walking towards the lake.

"Gohan!"

Piccolo ran over to him, only to be kept back by an unknown force and he was just about ten meters away from him.

Gohan stared lifelessly at the clouds before him. Cell walked beside him.

"I know. Breathtaking, isn't it?"

Gohan was still in a trance-like state but soon snapped out of it as Cell had dug his thumb into Gohan's major vein in his arm. Cell put two fingers to his forehead, not releasing him, and disappeared.

"NO, Gohan!" cried Dende. It was a sickening sight for a child, especially Dende.

Piccolo ran towards the edge of the lookout, hoping to sense them...nothing.

They reappeared in a forest near Gohan's home. Cell swung Gohan into a tree. His spine cracked at the pressure the impact had on his back. Cell yanked his thumb out of Gohan's arm which made the young hybrid yelp a little. His arm bled.

Cell then ripped a peace of Gohan's gi from his shin and tied it around the wound.

"That's just so you won't die so soon."

Gohan longed to scream for help. Lately he'd been completely cut off from his friends, family and the world for that matter.

He didn't. He let Cell kill him. He had lost the will to live since his father died. He had been very suicidal, yet his mother and grandfather never noticed the cuts on his wrists and arms. He hadn't been talking to Krillin for quite some time. That day was the first time he had talked to Piccolo for a long while. It seemed that their relationship had become distant since he went into the Time Chamber. The only thing he had going for, were the moments when Goku would look at him, and he was wonderful...

**And that would never happen again.**

Gohan felt his throat being cut open slowly. Then he felt Cell remove the piece of gi being removed from his arm.

Gohan gathered all of the strength that he had left and turned to Cell...

"Tell my mother...I'm sorry..."

Cell chuckled under his breath.

"Sorry, kid. I don't do last requests."

He disappeared, for good this time.

Gohan's vision blurred and his eyes were half open. He had been bleeding for quite a while now.

"I'm so sorry..."

Gohan closed his eyes and took one last breath.

He died...alone...

**_Born from silence, silence full of it  
A perfect concert my best friend  
So much to live for, so much to die for  
If only my heart had a home _**

Sing what you can't say  
Forget what you can't play  
Hasten to drown into beautiful eyes  
Walk within my poetry, this dying music  
- My loveletter to nobody

Never sigh for better world  
It's already composed, played and told  
Every thought the music I write  
Everything a wish for the night

Wrote for the eclipse, wrote for the virgin  
Died for the beauty the one in the garden  
Created a kingdom, reached for the wisdom  
Failed in becoming a god

Never sigh for better world  
It's already composed, played and told  
Every thought the music I write  
Everything a wish for the night

"If you read this line, remember not the hand that wrote it  
Remember only the verse, songmaker's cry the one without tears  
For I've given this its strength and it has become my only strength.  
Comforting home, mother's lap, chance for immortality  
where being wanted became a thrill I never knew  
The sweet piano writing down my life"

"Teach me passion for I fear it's gone  
Show me love, hold the lorn  
So much more I wanted to give to the ones who love me  
I'm sorry  
Time will tell (this bitter farewell)  
I live no more to shame nor me nor you  
And you... I wish I didn't feel for you anymore..."

A lonely soul  
An ocean soul

**THE END**

**(Dead Boy's Poem by Nightwish by the way)**


End file.
